BEIJING — Weary negotiators from six nations reached a tentative agreement early this morning on the first steps toward dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
The pending deal, coming after marathon talks and years of frustration, is believed to call for North Korea to freeze plutonium production at its main nuclear center at Yongbyon and allow international atomic energy inspectors back into the country. In return, the impoverished nation would be given energy assistance and related aid.
A second, more protracted phase would address thorny disarmament issues.
The tentative deal is based on a one-page document circulated late last week by China calling for a several-stage agreement under which both sides would take measured steps forward to ensure compliance and build trust.
Details on the apparent breakthrough were not immediately available, pending approval by the governments involved. Talks reconvened today at the Diaoyutai Guest House in west Beijing. The six-nation talks involve the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia.
"We think this is an excellent draft," said an obviously tired Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator, at the end of 16 hours of talks. "I don't think we are the problem, or would be the problem."
Any announced agreement with the government in Pyongyang should be treated with caution, given its history of faltering compliance and broken deals. That said, some analysts expressed cautious optimism that this could be a long-awaited turning point in negotiations with North Korea's autocratic leadership, which raised concern and ire across much of the world when it announced the testing of a nuclear device on Oct. 9.
The six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program began in 2003.
"There was an agreement on the key differences of North Korea's actions for denuclearization, their scope and how far they'll go," South Korean envoy Chun Yung-woo told reporters. "North Korea basically agreed to all the measures in the draft."
All six nations must still sign off on the deal reached by their negotiating teams. Questions remained over how the deal would be funded.
Assuming the accord is confirmed, attention in coming weeks will shift to working groups aimed at addressing a variety of technical issues involving denuclearization, energy requirements, diplomatic recognition, timing and financial sanctions, among others.
